Traffic signal lights



Aug. 10, 1965 s. H. OLSEN TRAFFIC SIGNAL LIGHTS Filed July 9, 1962 INVENTOR. STEPHEN 0485M United States Patent O 3,200,371 TRAFFIC SIGNAL LIGHTS Stephen H. Olsen, 466 Ballston Road, Scotia, N.Y. Filed July 9, 1962, Ser. No. 208,291 1 Claim. (or. 340-84) The present invention relates to trafiic signals and is more particularly concerned with a traffic light for controlling trafiic from four directions.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a traffic light combining in a single unit the signals for controlling trafiic approaching from four directions towards the traific light and which houses the signals for each direction of traffic so that a person approaching the trafiic light will only see the signals controlling that person.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide a traflic light supportable at the middle of an intersection of streets, which light produces elongated horizontal light signals readily decernable from surrounding lights such as display lights on :adjawnt buildings and which light signals are also concentrated in the direction of approach thereto.

Still further objects of the invention will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the following description of the accompanying drawing, in which;

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the present traflic light.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

And FIGURE 4 is a further enlarged perspective view of a modified form of side plate for the present trafiic light.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing wherein like and corresponding parts are indicated by similar reference characters, numeral 1 designates a supporting plate having a hub 2 fixedly mounted on the upper face thereof by means of bolts or rivets 3. Said hub has internal threads 4 with pipe 5 in threaded engagement therewith.

Said pipe 5 has an externally threaded end 6 extending through hood 7 while four corner plates 8 having V-end recesses 8, are mounted against the lower face of plate 1.

Four curved side plates 9 having concave fronts each have their upper edges abutting plate 1 and each of their upper corners extending into one of said corner plate V- end recesses so that each recess has the adjacent upper corners of two plates 9 therein.

Each of said plates 9 has a series of superposed elongated and parallel rectangular slots therein. As shown in FIGURES 1 to 3 said slots are designated ,by reference characters 10, 11 and 12. Colored elongated rectangular transparent or translucent lens 13 and 14 and 15 of glass or plastic are mounted against the rear face of each plate 9 and are curved lengthwise corresponding to their plate 9 so that they abut said plate throughout their length. Lens 13 is preferably colored red and extends across opening 10, while lens 14 is yellow and extends across opening Ill and lens 15 is green and extends across opening 12.

Four corner posts 16 extend perpendicular from corner plates 8 while a bottom plate 17 having four concave sides has the lower edges of said plates 9 fixedly mounted thereon.

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A pair of superimposed spaced apart dividing plates 18 and 19 extend between plates 9 parallel to bottom 17 so that plates 1, 18, 19 and 17 provide three compartments A, B and C each containing one of said lenses for each plate 9. Each of said compartments further contains a pair of vertical intersecting dividers 20 and 21 dividing each compartment into four triangular subcompartments D, E, F and G each containing a lens of one of said plates 9 separating the similar lenses of all of said plates from one another.

Light sockets 22, 23, 24 and 25 are mounted between said dividers 20 and 21 in each compartment and have electric light bulbs 26, 27, 28 and 29 respectively mounted therein. Said sockets are connected by wires (not shown) extending through pipe 5 for being connected to a controlled source of electrical current whereby the lamps for each compartment can be lighted as desired.

In use the present tratfic light is suspended in any conventional manner usually by wire ropes connected to street posts and pipe 5 and extending across a street intersection so that said light is in the middle of an intersection with each plate 9 facing one of the streets approaching said intersection. Thus lens 13, 14 and 15 extend horizontally and the lenses of each plate 9 can only be seen from the street facing said plate. Only the bulbs behind the lenses of the same collor at opposite sides of the signal are lighted at a time to designate go, caution or stop according to their color to control the flow of trafiic through the street intersection.

Where it is desirable to give further controlling signals such as walk for the pedestrians the present traific light can be modified by having each plate 9 replaced by a plate 30 as shown in FIGURE 4 which has four superimposed rectangular slots 31, 32, 33 and 34 with red lens 35, yellow lens 36, green lens 37 and lens 38 with the word walk provided thereon extending across said slots and four light compartments behind each lens instead of the three previously described.

The elements of the present tratfic light such as plates 1, 8, 9, 17 to 21, posts 16 and hood 7 can be connected together by conventional means such as by welding, bolts, rivets and the like while said lens can be affixed to their plates 9 or 30 by adhesives such as epoxy resins for example.

It is to be appreciated that the present traific light can be modified to have only lenses on one plate 9 and mounted on a street corner in the manner of conventional traffic signals for controlling traffic from one street only facing plate 9.

The present device is capable of considerable modification and such changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claim is deemed to be a part of the invention.

I claim:

A tratfic signal light comprising a supporting plate, a hood mounted above one face of said plate, a hub fixedly connected to said plate face and extending through said hood, a plurality of corner plates fixedly mounted on the other face of said supporting plate and each having a V- end recess, a plurality of side plates each having a concave-cnoss-sectional configuration and having one edge abutting said supporting plate with each corner of said edge positioned in one of said corner plate V-end recesses; each of said side plates having a plurality of superposed parallel elongated slots extending laterally of its side plate,

it? I- a plurality of colored elongated rectangular and longi- References Cited by the Examiner tudinally curved lens fixedly mounted on said side plates UNITED STATES PATENTS vyitn each lens completely extending across one of said D 64396 3/24 M combe r.

side plate slots, a plurality of corner posts each extending perpendicular from one of said corner plates and a bot- 5 FOREIGN PATENTS torn plate fixedly connected to the other edge of and ex- 863x395 3/41 Francetendrng between said side plates. NEIL C. READ, Primary Examiner. 

